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Tag: munich

Are you sick of hearing about Munich yet? I mean, it’s only been three months since our trip. You’d think I would have run out of stuff to talk about. Well, you’d be right. This is officially the LAST Munich post. Until the next one. Nononono. This is the last. #orisit? #yesyesitis

So you know we journeyed primarily for the markets, but we knew Munich had plenty of other things to see. I also knew that we would need to brave more inside things than usual, given the icy temps. Usually, outside is our friend. Just turn Henry loose and let him kick a rock. But this time I knew we needed a game plan for all things indoors.

This was a HUGE hit with the kids. And by kids, I mean Henry. This futuristic building showcases very pricy cars and motorcycles that you can climb all over. And then try to persuade your toddler to climb OUT of. Poor James. He still recounts the stink eye he received from a line of grown men upon trying to extricate Henry from the $100,000 car so they could have their turn.

It was easy to get to, just a few stops on the metro. Once you exit the metro, you’re there. You are dangerously close to the Olympic Stadium if you’d like to check that out as well. We looked over at it, but did not venture that way. It was cold, ya’ll.

You can also visit the BMW Museum across the street. But that costs money. Oh, did I not mention? The BMW Welt is FREE. That’s right. Hours of entertainment for the price of a metro ticket.

This place was also good for a family. They have a changing room downstairs (like a family bathroom minus the toilet). They also have large lockers where you can stash your gear, free of charge. There is a restaurant if you need a pick-me-up. And there is even a little play area with a few toys.

I was a little meh because cars aren’t really my thing, but I got a kick out of seeing Henry’s excitement. They had a stunt motorcycle demonstration while we were there. I will admit that was pretty cool. Henry still talks about that time we saw a moto drive up and down the stairs.

For kid-friendliness and overall enjoyment of the experience, I give it five Breadstick Macs.

There is a coat room, but they cautioned us that it would be cold inside. For the stroller, they asked that we switch ours with one of their inside strollers. These were actually fancy Maclaren strollers; much nicer than the umbrella stroller we had with us. Cool, no problem.

What was a PROBLEM that NO ONE mentioned were the large number of stairs on the tour. I’m not talking a couple of stairs. I’m talking flights of stairs, with zero elevator alternative. It’s fine. I just wish they had given us a heads up. Like a “hey, please take this fancy stroller, but do be warned that there are oodles of unavoidable stairs. Toodles!”

Henry lost it fairly early on during the tour. He vociferously refused to stay in the stroller. He wouldn’t walk. He was doing some screeching. We even tried putting Mac in the stroller with me wearing Henry as a backpack. You know what else is on the back of me? My hair. That doofus would not stop pulling my hair. We hustled through the beautiful rooms. In a way, it was probably better. This way I just enjoyed the palace ambiance without being worried about reading EVERYTHING. But it would have been nicer sans the hair pulling.

We didn’t even try the bathrooms so I can’t report back. I would not hold out hope for a changing table though.

For us, I give it only two Breadstick Macs. If you could keep your kids locked down though, you might get more mileage out of this one.

3. The Viktualienmarkt

This is a daily food market that has been operating for lots and lots of years. (As you can see, we value historical accuracy around here at Roman Reboot.) It was conveniently across from our hotel. We didn’t spend much time there because, you know, super cold outside, but it was nice to walk through. They supposedly have a biergarten, but I think this is just in warmer weather.

In sum, we didn’t really take advantage of this one, but it would be a great place to pick up a snack or some provisions if you have a kitchen.

This is beside the Viktualienmarkt. It is sort of like taking the Viktualienmarkt party indoors and a little yuppier. (DC folks: this is basically Union Market.) They have individual stall/booth like places, but it is a little more restaurant-y. Like you could grab a glass of wine and a snack kind of a place. (I looked all over for beer to take back to my hotel. They did not seem to have that.)

Important to Henry, the Milka store is downstairs. For me, Milka will always be inferior to Kinder, but we picked up some pretty tasty treats.

5. Asamkirche

On this one, I just really like the backstory. This is an incredibly over-the-top Rococo church (I guess those are redundant) built by the Asam brothers in the 1700s. These brother architects built it as a private church to basically show off what all they could do for private clients.

It is pretty tiny. You can do the whole thing in less than five minutes. But interesting (and free!) to pop in if you are by that way. And you probably will be; Munich downtown is actually pretty small.

This is one that is a part of the Munich skyline, but I think you can skip. Granted, we didn’t try to climb the tower. That might have been worth it for the views. The inside of the church is nice, but nothing super special.

This is one you can’t just roll up into (although this site mentions tours), but is impressive to see from the outside. Rick Steves says it was designed to look like the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. According to the internets, “[t]he glass roof represents a tent (Ohel), symbolizingMoses’ 40-year-journey through the desert.”

It is definitely an interesting, recent addition to downtown Munich. I’ve never seen anything like it. And, there is a small playground right outside. This is the only playground we spotted in all of our trekking around downtown. BONUS.

8. The Glockenspiel

And, last but not least, Munich’s famous glockenspiel at Marienplatz. When we were there, shows happened at 11:00 am and noon, but there are more in summer. We caught the show our first day and our last. Yay for trip bookends!

The show is surprisingly involved and it goes on for awhile. I find it a little boring, but Henry was all about it bout it. Every time we went by, he commented about when the men would be moving again. Rick mentions hitting the upper floors of the bookstore across the street for a bird’s eye view. We tried that, but the windows are small and the view was not great. I think you are better off on the ground.

So that’s our trip. I was bummed that we didn’t make it to the English Garden, but you know, freezing. Next time, Gadget.

Did we miss your Munich fave? Did you like these sights? Isn’t Breadstick Mac adorable?

I mean, if this not-at-all-doctored photo doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.

But first we had to get to Nuremberg. For this, we turned to the ICE (fast) train with Deutsche Bahn. We were originally going to split our time between Nuremberg and Munich, but decided to just do a day trip to Nuremberg when we realized the ICE would be a little over an hour. (It turned out to be closer to an hour and a half.)

We ended up paying more than I hoped, but this was because we (1) bought the tickets the day of and (2) did not want to commit to a specific return train. Trains run from Nuremberg to Munich every 30 minutes, and I didn’t want to pin us down. If we had booked in advance and/or picked specific trains, the ticket would have been much cheaper. I didn’t want to book in advance because we were playing the weather by ear. It would have been nicer to get a cheaper ticket, but I figure we paid a premium for the flexibility and for not having to deal with schlepping all of our stuff to a different city for an overnight. Twice actually because we would have had to return to Munich for the flight.

We opted for reserved seats on the way there, but we would have been OK without it. We didn’t have any trouble getting seats on the return.

They have ticket kiosks which are very easy to use, but after having some questions, we opted to speak to a real person. I was excited that I could have conducted the whole thing auf Deutsch! I eventually asked the guy if we could switch because it was easier consulting with James in English without first having to translate everything.

I hoped Henry would be more jazzed about the train. I mean, he was excited, but the countryside looked sort of drab and gray on the way there and pitch black on the way back. He was more into making his dad walk him all over the train.

I will say, preparing to exit the train with the kids and our day trip gear was a little stressful. The train doesn’t stop for long at each station. This is great for speeding along on your trip, but less great when you are like CRAP-I-have-to-grab-all-the-bags-and-stuff-kids-in-coats-and-AHHH. But it all worked out.

Munich Hauptbahnhof

Nuremberg on its own is an insanely cute German town. Cobblestones, river running through it, fachwerk, pedestrian zones. I don’t think I appreciated just how nice of a place it was on its own when I saw it ten years ago.

The market completely fills the main square. There are also a few side markets.

After hunting for some kid-friendly tips on the internets, we had an afternoon tea at Cafe Violetta. (Nuremberg also has a train museum and toy museum that sounded pretty cool for kids, but we didn’t get to those.) At first, I worried that we made a terrible mistake. Downstairs is like a cross between an antique store and a fancy coffee shop. The cafe is kind of like being in your cozy Aunt’s house or maybe a common room at Hogwarts. Plush furniture that doesn’t match, but it goes. Nooks and alcoves. It looked great, but not for kids.

Eventually, we found the train table upstairs. We stalked the squashy couch beside it and eventually had a great time unwinding after being out in the cold drizzle. Henry was obsessed with the table. It may have been his favorite thing of the entire trip. This is why two year olds make crappy tourists. I could show him the Sistine Chapel and he would probably be like oooo is that a light switch? (Mac would probably be like LUNCH. I remember in either first or second grade, the Sistine Chapel National Geographic one was super scandalous. It was definitely passed around the room and whispered about.)

And here is the market stretching as far as the eye can see.

It was a cold and drizzly day, but I’m glad we went. It’s funny; when I walked around Nuremberg as a student more than ten years ago, I never really thought ahead to what the future might bring. I didn’t picture some day returning and trying to show my two kids around this market that I loved so much. Even though I didn’t picture it, I’m glad we were able to make it happen. Now I’ll just have to bring them back when they can actually appreciate it!

*Only meant to be a silly Lord of the Rings reference.

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Now we’re in it. January and February are pretty bleak. Christmas cheer has been packed up. Things can be a bit dreary. Back home, March is usually just as bad, which is even worse for me because I stubbornly continue to think it should be warm. March, that should be spring, right? WRONG, YOU GET A SNOWSTORM. Hope that parka goes with your Easter ensem!

Things in Rome have been downright balmy compared to DC. The weather claims the highs are close to 60. I guess I can’t argue with the weather reporting professionals, but it doesn’t feel like 60. 40s and 50s, yes. It is a damp cold, but the teens it is not. Huzzah.

In case you are experiencing mega-cold let’s-build-a-fire type weather, consider these toasty Christmas market inspired drinks to warm you right up. These drinks were great for walking the markets in Germany. I think they would also be awesome on a chilly evening tucked up with a blanket. You don’t even have to worry about paying extra for your cup deposit (pfand) and remembering to get your money back!

Gluhwein

Mulled wine is a staple at Christmas markets. You can find both white and red, but I’m all about that red. There are about a million recipes online and I can’t claim to have found the best one, but you are probably looking at some combo of wine, cloves, sugar, and orange.

If you like your gluhwein with a little more flair, consider trying a . . .

Feuerzangenbowle

With a little help from wikipedia, I can tell you that this fun-to-pronounce drink involves a run-soaked sugar loaf being set on fire and dripped into gluhwein. The main difference in the markets seems to be that feuerzangenbowle, aka fire-tongs punch, stands are usually covered with flames and fire.

We tried it. It was tasty. I didn’t notice a huge difference from traditional gluhwein. I was disappointed that nothing was lit on fire in front of me.

The problem with gluhwein is that it can feel a little too Christmas-y. If you want to mix up your flavors, allow me to recommend . . .

Fruity Gluhwein

In Nuremberg, we enjoyed some heidelbeer gluhwein. Heidelbeer doesn’t exactly translate to something in the U.S.; it seems to basically be a European blueberry. James and I ended up liking this a lot. You could really taste the fruit. I think this could be great with blueberry wine, strawberry wine, or any wine your grandmother would probably be really into. I’m looking at you Manischewitz.

If you are over hot wine, why not try a . . .

Hot Coconut

We got this on our trip to Tollwood. I’m not translating here. We literally ordered the “hot coconut.” It was served in a half coconut bowl that I forgot to take a picture of. I’m pretty sure it was just rum and coconut milk heated. I’ve tried googling to confirm, but all sorts of delicious and more complicated recipes come up. These sound pretty incredible if you have the time and inclination, but I’m pretty sure hot run and coconut milk together would be a simple win.

I would NOT, however, recommend that you try . . .

Gluhbier

That’s right. I tried hot beer. The descriptions sounded amazing. Beer with additions of vanilla and caramel flavors. Beer with orange. James and I both got a different flavor.

Yeeaah, it was still hot beer. It is not something I would recommend. I like the concept. Hated the execution.

We also tried the Stachelbier. For this one, they put a hot poker into a cold beer, with the goal of creating hot foam. The point is then to enjoy the hot foam with cold beer. It was. . . interesting? There was definitely hot foam on the beer. I would not say it created any sort of unique flavor experience, but I’m glad we tried it.

And for the kiddos . . .

Kinderpunsch

That’s right, zee Germans serve a hot punch for kids that looks like they are swigging hot wine along with everyone else. We only got this once for Henry because it was HOT and there was the mess factor. Henry can report that he really enjoys french fries dipped in his kinderpunsch. Also, this is not a hot one, but Henry put a hurting on some apfelschorle, a carbonated apple drink, during the trip.

What does one do a Christmas market? Mostly just wander around. Eating. Drinking. Most of the shops–that aren’t selling food–peddle various tchotchkes. Christmas ornaments. Delicate wooden candle wraps. Knit hats and slippers. Toys. The markets were crowded, sometimes uncomfortably so. But wandering around, breathing the chilly air, a warm drink in hand, soaking in the sights. It just feels festive.

For an alternative market experience, you can also head out to Tollwood at Theresienwiese, the grounds for Oktoberfest. This felt sort of like if Asheville or Portland had a Christmas market. Younger. Both hipper and hippy.

We enjoyed live music and beer inside this tent. Henry danced as if no one was watching, which pretty much ensured that plenty of people were watching him.

Ah, markets. I’m already thinking about which city to hit next holiday season.

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Granted, this post could have just been named “I like to eat” and it would be completely accurate, but inexplicably I ADORE eating while walking. Something about food while on the move just makes me happy. I sometimes joke (not really joking) that I could walk forever if you just kept feeding me things. This is why I find it so strange that the Italians generally buy gelato and then stand/sit outside the store and eat it. I supposed they would say they are savoring it. I say, don’t you know you could take that gelato on the road?? Best. walk. ever.

Christmas markets are the perfect spot to indulge in an eat-and-walk. And you can drink-and-walk too! (But we’ll cover drinks later.) It is pretty much the best thing ever. It’s like the state fair, but classier and more festive.

Up first, we had plenty of actual meat. Here, you can see me with your standard bratwurst. We pretty much avoided the traditional Munich weisswurst, as we are not huge fans. But we did have plenty of currywurst, which is a sliced bratwurst in a tomato curry sauce. James also discovered a deep love for the Nurnberger bratwurst, which are smaller and served three or five to a roll. As James will tell you, there is more surface area for more crispy skin deliciousness. I thought the Nurnberger ones tasted a tad breakfasty, but very delicious. There were fish sandwich vendors as well, but we never got around to trying it.

Up next, the baumstriezel. This was new to me, but it is not one I will soon forget. It is basically just dough that sort of looks like it is cooked on a spit and topped with deliciousness. We tried coconut, but preferred the simple sugar and cinnamon version.

Note the bundled toddler. Henry will pretty much stay in the stroller as long as he is getting food. Can’t imagine where he gets it . . .

We also had a pretty epic strudel experience in Nuremberg. Here is James with the hazelnut strudel. When I ordered, the lady asked “apple or hazelnut?” We opted for hazelnut, but when I went back, the strudel was all gone. The moral of this story is that if a nice German lady asks “apple or hazelnut,” you should say “yes please!”

We didn’t seem to take any pictures, but we also enjoyed french fries, crepes, and roasted almonds (both traditional and nutella-flavored). And probably other things I’m forgetting. You can ask James; I was constantly darting off, a few euro in my pocket and returning with something to eat. It was awesome.

Some honorable mentions that we didn’t eat but looked fascinating.

Here, we have the schoko doner. Instead of meat, you can see the pillar of chocolate that was shaved off into various things.

And here, middle, you can see the marzipan potatoes. Zee Germans are a little obsessed with marzipan and a lot obsessed with potatoes so I suppose this was inevitable. I like marzipan as a sort of condiment to a dessert item. This is a lot of marzipan.

And a special note on lebkuchen. Because you can’t mention a Christmas market and not talk about lebkuchen. You can see some of them dangling in the photo above. They are everywhere. We did try an iced one. They are sort of like gingerbread, but I like them less. James seemed to enjoy it. He brought some for his office and one of his colleagues who lived in Germany before said it took her back. This is true. Love it or hate it, lebkuchen = Christmas market.

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I am fascinated by small space designs. I don’t know that I want to live in a microhouse, but I love the idea of having a smaller space that is designed in the best possible way so that it feels bigger than it really is.

We stayed at the Hotel Blauer Bock in Munich. Blauer Bock was in a terrific location, had a very friendly staff, and the room price included breakfast and internet. It was definitely a bit of a splurge, but we were stymied on where else to get a room with two cribs. We received polite responses to inquiries that stated the hotel did have two cribs, but we would not be able to fit two of them in a room. We almost booked adjoining rooms at the Pension am Jakobsplatz, but we were cautioned about ongoing construction noise there and thought that might not be ideal for nap time.

Our room had some thoughtful design touches. I was impressed with the cutouts above the bathroom that added light to a darker area. It was also nice to have a coat rack right by the front door.

The nightstand with reading light was also nice. After spending many years sleeping with my kindle under my pillow or on the floor, I value a good nightstand. I’m not sure why I didn’t take the plunge at our old house and fasten something to the wall, as they did here. I guess it just feels so permanent. Hope you like where the bed is because your nightstand ain’t moving! I operate under the (misguided) belief that there is a perfect furniture arrangement that can be found if you just keep trying. What if I nightstood before it was achieved?? (I know, I know, it could move. But if you are too lazy to attach a nightstand in the first place, you are probably too lazy to move it.)

The hotel room also had some great features for a stay with kids. After fearing that we would be sandwiched with cribs touching the bed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had a sitting room separated by a door that was a perfect spot for the kids. Well, it was perfect for the first three nights. After that Mac got unexplainedly ragey when you tried to put him down. Then, once you finally rocked him to sleep and set him down, Henry screamed, “MACKLES” from across the room, starting the screaming all over again. At this point, Mac was removed and placed in the corner of the main room.

Unfortunately, the bathroom was not ideal for two littles. No tub. We had a corner shower with two curtains. Why do people do this? Maybe it looks nicer to have curtains instead of a door? Maybe it is just easier to clean? But it sure was a pain for showering. The space shrunk by half as the ghost curtains horned in on you once you started the water. Let’s just say the kids did get cleaned, but not as often as at home.

Henry was thrilled to have two TVs to play with. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care that all programming was in German.

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And we’re back! We got back from five nights in Munich last week. There were definitely some lows (like Henry causing 50 euro of damage at the hotel breakfast), but plenty of fun moments and the Christmas markets were amazing. You guys will be hearing plenty over the next few weeks, I’m sure.

After a week of meat, sugar, and beer, I’m looking forward to getting back to cooking real food. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but I almost feel like I haven’t cooked since Thanksgiving. The holidays are here which makes it tough, but it is time.

Overall, I’d say my new lifestyle is less healthy than my old in several ways. I drink less water. When sitting at a desk, I had my Nalgene bottle right in front of me and I drank water all day long. I am excellent at drinking things put right in front of me. This is a great skill for staying hydrated, a less great one for trying not to get sloppy at a party. Now because we are on the move, I don’t have water in front of me. I feel like I take two sips and then we are off to something else and cups just end up all over the house. It is not ideal.

There is less incidental movement. Before, I did a good bit of walking on my commute. I would often walk to lunch. Even walking around a large office building built in some exercise. I thought here, we’d be constantly on the go and would really rack up those steps, but it is surprisingly easy not to move far at all. The grocery store is only a few blocks away. I have playgrounds steps from the front door. I want to walk more, but the sidewalks here can really be a pain for the stroller. And the toddler doesn’t really want to sit in the stroller anyway.

One of the best bonuses about working at home is making your lunch. It is easy to throw together a real salad or even just grab leftovers without having to lug them to work in a giant Tupperware. But even though I’m at home, I haven’t been taking advantage. Lunch is usually a scramble. An afterthought. Not good.

I’ve been noticing more freckles. Freckles I haven’t seen this bright since I was a kid. Small wonder, I’m spending much more time outside now. Usually just standing at a playground with the baby strapped to me, but it adds up. My mom has had precancerous things removed from her skin. Why am I not doing better?

Looking over this list objectively, I admit that there seem to be easy solutions to many of these issues. A little more effort. A little more planning. But it is easy to get really caught up in the day-to-day kid spiral survival mode and the last thing I want to do is walk across the city or even walk to my kitchen to get a glass of water. And even typing that sentence, I know it doesn’t make sense, but that is honestly the way it feels sometimes. I’m tired. And even though I know that making an effort on some of these things would make me less tired, it is hard to do.

In the meantime, at the suggestion of my cosmetologist friend here, I have switched to wearing real sunscreen on my face. SPF 55. Formulated for babies actually so I think it stinks less. (I hate smelling like I’m going to the beach all day.) My Oil of Olay with SPF 15 advertised continuous moisture all day long, but if you read the fine print, stated that you needed to reapply every two hours for sun protection. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Anyone have any tips or tricks? I know, I know, there are no easy solutions. Grr.

Seeing if I remember any German I did a year of study abroad in Germany, but this was ages ago. My German was never that great, but I got around. Now with Italian, I get frustrated because I feel like I can say all these things in German. Time to put my money where my mouth is . . .

I am less excited about:

The Cold Although you’d never know it by looking at the Romans wearing sweaters, scarves, and puffer coats, we’ve been enjoying temps in the 60s here still. Munich, not so much. It will probably be closer to the 30s. I think it does make the Christmas markets special when it is actually cold, but we’ll have to be prepared. As long as it doesn’t rain, I promise not to whine too much. The forecast calls for “ice pellets” on one day. Gulp.

Sharing a hotel room We looked at some airbnb, but eventually opted for a hotel that claims they will give us two cribs and that they will both fit in our room. This could be interesting.